<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>In mountainous regions, the atmospheric dispersion of air pollutants is limited by complex terrain morphology. Trentino (a province located in the Italian Alps) is characterized by a high population density, highly developed agriculture and farming, and the presence of civil and industrial activities, whose emissions tend to be trapped inside the valleys. These conditions translate into exposure levels that are potentially higher than other geographical contexts (e.g., flat or coastal regions). The academic research carried out in Trentino since 2005 has produced a series of publications on topics related to the risk for health derived from waste management and other activities. These publications has focused on: 1) the evaluation of the emissions of organic pollutants from the waste sector; 2) the monitoring of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in various environmental matrices; 3) a methodology to carry out a comprehensive health risk assessment considering all the relevant exposure routes in an area; 4) the role of the local diet in the exposure of a population to POPs; 5) methodologies to define new regulatory limit values for dioxin and hexavalent chromium; and 6) the role of dispersion modeling in assessing the exposure to air pollutants. The present paper will review these publications and provide a reference document to evaluate new project proposals that require a health risk assessment and facilitate the work of proponents, clarifying the requirements of a health risk assessment. The paper will refer to waste gasification, but the considerations expressed in this paper may apply to other activities.</p>
</abstract>

In mountainous regions, the atmospheric dispersion of air pollutants is limited by complex terrain morphology. Trentino (a province located in the Italian Alps) is characterized by a high population density, highly developed agriculture and farming, and the presence of civil and industrial activities, whose emissions tend to be trapped inside the valleys. These conditions translate into exposure levels that are potentially higher than other geographical contexts (e.g., flat or coastal regions). The academic research carried out in Trentino since 2005 has produced a series of publications on topics related to the risk for health derived from waste management and other activities. These publications has focused on: 1) the evaluation of the emissions of organic pollutants from the waste sector; 2) the monitoring of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in various environmental matrices; 3) a methodology to carry out a comprehensive health risk assessment considering all the relevant exposure routes in an area; 4) the role of the local diet in the exposure of a population to POPs; 5) methodologies to define new regulatory limit values for dioxin and hexavalent chromium; and 6) the role of dispersion modeling in assessing the exposure to air pollutants. The present paper will review these publications and provide a reference document to evaluate new project proposals that require a health risk assessment and facilitate the work of proponents, clarifying the requirements of a health risk assessment. The paper will refer to waste gasification, but the considerations expressed in this paper may apply to other activities.

Criteria for the Assessment of Health Risk from a Waste Gasification Plant

Department of Civil, Environmental and Mechanical Engineering

Department of Agronomy, Food, Natural Resources, Animals and Environment

Environmental and Climate Technologies

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

{"article-title":"Criteria for the Assessment of Health Risk from a Waste Gasification Plant"}

In mountainous regions, the atmospheric dispersion of air pollutants is limited by complex terrain morphology. Trentino (a province located in the Italian...

Criteria for the Assessment of Health Risk from a Waste Gasification Plant

Published Online: Nov 06, 2023

Page range: 654 - 665

Received: Mar 25, 2023

Accepted: Sep 26, 2023

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/rtuect-2023-0048

Keywords
Air pollution, cancer risk, dispersion modeling, emissions, exposure, hexavalent chromium, persistent organic pollutants (POPs)

© 2023 Marco Tubino et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Criteria for the Assessment of Health Risk from a Waste Gasification Plant

Published Online: Nov 06, 2023

Page range: 654 - 665

Received: Mar 25, 2023

Accepted: Sep 26, 2023

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/rtuect-2023-0048

KeywordsAir pollution, cancer risk, dispersion modeling, emissions, exposure, hexavalent chromium, persistent organic pollutants (POPs)

© 2023 Marco Tubino et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Keywords
Air pollution, cancer risk, dispersion modeling, emissions, exposure, hexavalent chromium, persistent organic pollutants (POPs)